More citizens and more nationalities in the city

Amsterdam — One of the Most Ethnically Diverse Cities in the World

UPDATED 2016

Amsterdam is home to (at least) 180 nationalities.

As Russell Shorto — historian, former Amsterdammer and author of two highly acclaimed books about Amsterdam — says:

Maybe it’s stretching things to say that Amsterdam invented diversity, but it is certainly the case that Amsterdam’s growth – its rise to Golden Age greatness – had precisely to do with its diversity. And it’s not a stretch to say this: in becoming the melting pot of Europe in the 1500s and 1600s, the city set the template for modern urban life.
– Russell Shorto, 180 Amsterdammers / 180 Nationalities Project (Archived at the Internet Archive)

On November 21, 2016, all 180 Amsterdammers who took part in the 180 Nationalities Project were invited for a dinner at the Royal Tropical Institute.

Cultural diversity, Amsterdam style: 180 Amsterdammers, from 180 nationalities

By the way, each year Amsterdam grows by about 11.000 new citizens — ranging from newborns to other newcomers (from inside and outside the Netherlands).

According to O+S, the Department for Research and Statistics for the municipality of Amsterdam, the city gained one person from Liechtenstein and one from Equatorial Guinea and lost someone from Qatar.

Borough West has the largest number of nationalities: 156, and Amsterdam-North the lowest: 140.

Of Amsterdammers with a foreign nationality Moroccans form the largest group, followed by Turks, Germans, British and Ghanaians.

Percentagewise the city the number of Eastern European nationalities grew fastest. The population of Hungarians, Bulgarians and Romanians grew by over 20 percent. The number of Poles, Nigerians and Ghanaians grew by over 10 percent.

Many people with a foreign nationality have a Dutch passport. Ultimately 88 percent of Amsterdammers has the Dutch nationality.